The draft

Israel’s high court ruled that Yeshiva students can no longer avoid the draft into the army. The reason they give, is because after October 7 the army needs more manpower. A possible reason that they don’t give, is that secular Jews are terrified that religious Jews are taking over rulership of Israel.

Let’s examine the first reason. More manpower does not guarantee security. Quality can be more important than quantity. Just as morale plays an important part in succeeding, so does spirituality.

King David won many wars for Israel. In Psalm 18 and many other Psalms, he attributes his success to G-d’s intervention.

We need to make our own efforts to accomplish things. We need to have a capable army. But the difference between success and failure, between defeat and victory, depends on G-d. By fulfilling His commandments and studying His Torah, we strengthen Israel’s army and open wide channels to receive G-d’s blessing.

Taking Yeshiva students out of Yeshiva to be in the army is counterproductive. The study of Torah helps soldiers. Stopping that is like stopping U.S. weapon shipments to Israel.

The heart and brain have different roles. If you try to get the heart to do what the brain does, you are wrecking things.

Now let’s examine the second possible reason why the court issued its ruling. They want to stop the religious from taking over, so they hope that if they stop their Torah study, and send them to the army, then they might assimilate.

But this has been tried before. Numerous nations throughout history have tried to assimilate Jews and to stop their study of Torah and devotion to G-d. But the Jews survived, because they held fast to their religion.

As Rabbi Akiva once explained with a parable: A fox wanted to eat a fish, but couldn’t reach it. So the fox tried to persuade the fish to come out of the water to the dry land, where everything is so much better. The fish laughed at the fox, because if it left the water, it was leaving its source of life and existence. The same with the Jewish people. Torah and Mitzvot (doing G-d’s commandments) is what keeps the Jewish nation alive as Jews. If they leave it, it’s like fish leaving the water.

The Greeks tried to assimilate the Jews. But the Maccabees fought back. And when they did, G-d performed miracles — the few defeated the many, and the pure oil (enough for one day) lasted for eight days.

The light of G-d’s Torah shines throughout the world. Generations of Jews have spread its light everywhere. Israel’s court will not succeed in stopping this light, because the Jewish people know that if they leave the waters of Torah G-d forbid, then the Jewish nation stops being Jewish.

Indeed the one common denominator that Jews have had throughout the ages was their adherence to the Torah. They did not always have the same language, the same land, or the same dress etc. The one and only thing that the Jewish people always had was the Torah. That’s what kept us surviving. And when some Jews abandoned Torah, they eventually assimilated.

The court will not succeed. The light of Torah is too strong. The Jewish nation is united and bound to G-d. 

We have come too far. We will win and overcome all obstacles and challenges. And we will soon bring Moshiach.

Redemption will be a time when even Israel’s court will acknowledge that G-d is One.

And then some Yeshiva boys will come and study Torah with Israel’s justices, in the holy land of Israel, when the light from the Temple will shine out to the entire world, and peace will be everywhere, forever.

May it happen very soon.